


The Ostwick Codices

by dweadpiwatemeggers



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Codex Entries (Dragon Age), Gen, Ostwick, Ostwick Circle
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-08
Updated: 2018-04-12
Packaged: 2018-05-25 14:24:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 3,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6198550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dweadpiwatemeggers/pseuds/dweadpiwatemeggers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of codex entries missing from the main game, containing information on the subjects of the City of Ostwick, the Ostwick Circle, and the Trevelyan family. (Note: some will make minor reference to my personal DA universe).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Codex: House Trevelyan

                In light of information recently acquired from the Tevinter Imperium, courtesy of our dear Lord Pavus, it would appear that we will need to make some adjustments to the family history. I have enclosed copies of the source documents with this letter, naturally, and before you ask, I have had it all verified. It is genuine (obviously, else it would all be hearsay and I wouldn’t bother you about it.)

                That the founding member of our House traveled to Ostwick with the Anderfels Royal Army is not in dispute – the records on that particular point are clear. What we must now acknowledge is that the line did not originate in the Anderfels, but the Imperium.

                Sometime in the late Towers Age, a member of the Pavus family, one Octavia Pavus, is recorded as marrying a member of the Laetan class (that’s a mage born to non-mages, or a descendant of the same) by the name of Corentin Trevelyan. The Pavus family records only list three issue from that marriage, but nosing through records of the era, we found a handful of mentions of something scandalous about the union, and the resultant offspring. It has taken some cross-referencing to confirm, but from what we have been able to gather, there was a fourth child, a son, our own Heinrich Trevelyan.

                In retrospect, perhaps we should have been more curious about how a complete unknown came to be a page in the Royal Household of the Anderfels, or why we could find no records of his place of birth, or family. Considering the vast wealth of the Pavus family, it is not out of the question that a mixture of bribery and diplomacy might have been used to ensure a happy future for their son.

                Pity those who stayed in Tevinter did not share that view.

 

\--- Excerpt from a letter written by Lord Inquisitor Chauncey Trevelyan to his sister, Revered Mother Evelyn, 9:43 Dragon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I maybe took a throwaway line from Dorian about knowing of a Trevelyan in his family line, and the possibility that they founded the branch in Ostwick and ran like mad with it.


	2. Codex: The Most Noble Order of the Wild Rose

                "And the master mason said to the Teyrn, 'Look to where the wild roses grow in the wall, my Lord, and place your men there, because that is where the wall is weakest.' ”

                When this order was founded, it was on the premises that even the most solid of walls may crack, that something must draw our attention to those cracks, and that once noticed, something must be done to prevent the wall from crumbling, and restore what has been broken.

                I come before you today to tell you that we have become complacent; we have not exercised the vigilance expected and required by the tenants of this Order.

                Some will say that we are interfering in sacred duties, that the business of the Chantry, of mages and Templars, is not the business of our Order. Some will say that it is not for us to judge, or else they will look to the East as a warning.

                I ask you, what duty is more sacred than that of the peacekeeper, what business more important than justice? I ask you to look to the East as a warning; will you allow our city to fall prey to the same fears? Will you allow it to be said that we stood by while our city, our _home_ fell to chaos and ruin because we refused to act?

                We are the Wild Roses! We must spring up in the cracks between the mages and the Templars. We must do what we can to restore the bonds that have been severed in our city, lest we be drawn into destruction, and have the walls crumble around us.

\---From a speech given by Lady Lucrezia Trevelyan to a meeting of The Order of the Wild Rose, 9:35 Dragon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes: Personal thoughts on why the Ostwick Circle was so tame – outside interference from some influential people.


	3. Codex: Trevelyan Coat of Arms

Granted in 5:23 Exalted to Friedrich Trevelyan and all his issue, for his feats of arms during the battle against the darkspawn outside that self-same city, during the Fourth Blight.

_Gules, a horse rampant argent, armed and crined or._

 

Altered in 7:79 Storm, to reflect the marriage of Bann Ionn Trevelyan to Solana of Brandel’s Reach.

_Per fess wavy gules and azure, a horse rampant couped argent, armed and crined or._

Those of the family who disagreed with the decision also altered their arms.

_Per fess indented gules and vert, a horse rampant couped argent, armed and crined or._

\--- Found in the records of the College of Arms of Ostwick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes: Heraldic language is a pain.
> 
> Translations:  
> A silver horse with a gold mane and hooves on a red field.
> 
> A partial silver horse with a gold mane and hooves on a field divided by a wavy line, red on top and blue underneath.
> 
> A partial silver horse with a gold mane and hooves on a field divided by a jagged or spikey line, red on top and green underneath.


	4. Codex: The City of Ostwick

                Each of the Marcher states is known for one thing that sets it apart from the others: Kirkwall has its great chains, Starkhaven its marbles palaces, and Ostwick has its walls.

                Nowhere else in the human kingdoms of Thedas is the mason viewed so highly, for the natives of Ostwick regard their stoneworkers as worth their weight in lyrium, and rightly so. The double walls of Ostwick limestone that enclose the city have been credited for the city’s infamous difficulty to subdue or invade. This has lead the locals to refer to themselves and their city as “The Unbreachable,” or “The Unbreached.”

                Naturally, this has spawned a number of jokes in neighbouring cities about the common state of dress in Ostwick.

\---From _In Pursuit of Knowledge: Travels of a Chantry Scholar_ , by Brother Genitivi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ostwick has no pants? Ostwick needs no pants?


	5. Codex: The Ostwick Watch

If you were, while walking the streets of Ostwick, to ask a local about The Watch, you would immediately confirm to them two things: first, that you are an outsider, and second, that you are something of an idiot. Well apart from the fact that the two are widely considered to be very nearly one and the same, it is believed that only an idiot would come to a city without understanding whom to address, and under what circumstances, when in need of aid. Outsider you may well be, my dear, but idiot you most certainly are not, therefore it behooves me to prepare you as much as possible for what to expect when you arrive.

Like the Kirkwall Guard, one of the responsibilities of The Ostwick Watch is law and order in this city and its environs, the protection of the city, etc. Unlike Kirkwall, we have divided our Watch’s responsibilities, and have assigned specialised groups, each under their own captain, to more specific mandates, the better to serve.

Examining the Watch from the most central responsibilities to least, we begin with The Watch within the Walls, what we call the Close Watch. These are our guardsmen, combatting crime and corruption and patrolling the city streets. Their reputation, deserved or no, is one of general brutishness, and they are frequently accused of taking petty bribes. Possibly this reputation is derived from the fact that the members of the Close Watch tend to be recruited from the lower orders of the city, looking to improve their station and make an honest living. I, personally, have yet to be presented with evidence to the contrary of either the reputation or the fact.

Continuing outwards, we are protected by The Watch upon the Walls, or the High Watch. As the name implies, this groups is responsible for watching from the walls, for approaching armies or ships, as well as managing the gates and lighthouses. In addition, the High Watch makes regular inspections of the walls themselves, marking imperfections or damage for necessary and immediate repair.

As most of the land outside city is held by Ostwick’s nobility, and that trade with those lands and elsewhere are required both for commerce and for the city to eat, the Watch beyond the Walls, or the Long Watch, extends its reach beyond the city proper and out towards the borderlands, as well as upon the surrounding seas. You will have no doubt noticed by now, sweetheart, that what our names lack in creativity, they compensate for in clarity. We are nothing if not a practical people. To return, the Long Watch is, unsurprisingly, largely comprised of and paid for by the nobility themselves. Protecting their investments, it is said, but it is also true that we are among the few who can afford to field the necessary horses, ships, numbers, armaments and provisions, on a voluntary basis. I, myself, have ridden among them, as did my father before me, and my brother after, while my sister Evelyn served upon one of the Long Watch’s ships. It is no mark of honor to do so, but rather a mark of dishonor if one has the ability, but chooses not to.

\- Excerpt from a letter written by Lady Seraphina Trevelyan to her fiancé, Lord Johann von Weiss of Nevarra, 9:24 Dragon.


	6. Codex: The Noble Houses of Ostwick

Fucking Trevelyans. Again. Again! One-hundred and fifty fucking years of absolute fucking nonsense. All because Bann Whatever decided to marry his salty pirate wench and split the family down the Maker-forsaken middle. Never mind that demons are pouring through holes all over the Southern Thedas, that Orlais is embroiled in a civil war, that both fucking Nevarra and Ferelden will be facing succession crises in the near future and that the economic bubble that we’ve seen in the past four years will be gone as soon as Kirkwall recovers because all the trade that came here in lieu of anywhere else to go will be gone. Never mind any of that, there is an age-old grudge that must be fought over! And we must do it by insulting each other’s fucking COWS!

The circumstance would be absurdly humorous were it not for the fact that they appear intent to make a grand gesture of it. Already the Polsue family has declared for the Saltwater, while Marrak and Bligh have declared for the Plains. The Bayarts push for peace, influenced by Lady Osher, no doubt – she was born a Trevelyan. Pray the flaming Inquisition intervenes successfully; else I’ll be forced to knock some heads together.

I can’t deny that to do so would be a fucking relief.

-From the journal of Baldwin Carvosso, Teyrn of Ostwick, 9:41 Dragon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes: The situation is pulled from the War Table operation: Mediate Between Ostwick Noble Families, which is also where I got the name Bayart. The rest of the names are of Cornish origin, just as Trevelyan is. Point of interest, Carvosso, the name I’ve chosen for the ruling family of Ostwick is believed to be from the Cornish for “walled hill-fort,” which seemed appropriate.


	7. Codex: The Art of War in Ostwick

The manner in which the average man- or woman-at –arms in Ostwick conducts themselves has always appeared to cause outsiders some consternation. True, we draw our bowstrings with thumb rather than forefingers. True also that we wield curved swords, and ride our horses upright. As well, true that none of this bears much relation to the manners of our neighbours. All of this, no doubt, contributes to the accusations that Ostwick is a backwater.

Not so! (That would be Ansburg.) Our traditions simply find their roots at a source far from the Free Marches and our Planasene ancestors. Journey to the steppes of the Anderfels, friend, watch what is left of their once-proud army at drills, and marvel at the similarities, so visible that one might well think them cousins. For indeed they are.

So, how is it that Ostwick, which is as near as is possible the other side of Thedas to the Anderfels, inherited such arts? The answer is, as is frequently the case when one asks questions of the Anderfels, the answer is the Blight. Specifically, the Fourth. It was then that the Army of the Anderfels rode with the Wardens from west to east, destroying the darkspawn as they went.

Seeing the lands of the Marches, the white stone walls, which seemed to them familiar, the fertile lands surrounding our fair city, many of the soldiers of that army wished to stay. The Teyrn of Ostwick of the time, out of gratitude for the lifting of the siege, and recognizing that her city had lost significant amounts of its population and thus was in need of young, healthy men and women, offered many of these soldiers the titles and land of the deceased, or else they married those who were due to inherit, and acquired the lands through different means.

Through the arts of love and war, their traditions were brought from the steppes to the plains and the foothills, and we, with our short bows and curved swords, sitting high in our saddles, continue them.

-From The Traditions of Ostwick: Love and War by Ser Liam Polsue of Blackwater

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Drawing some oddly-connected real-world parallels here, so bear with me if you’re actually interested in how I came to this particular conclusion. Partly, this was an effort to draw more than just European traditions into the world of Thedas. The other part was a vague understanding of how some things in history went down. The Anderfels are dominated geographically by the steppe – just like the Great Eurasian steppe, which was, at various points in history, the playground of a handful of archery & riding cultures (Scythians, Parthians, Mongols). Through various means of transmission, martial arts passed from the steppe to the Mediterranean coast via Turkey, then up into central Europe (Hungarian hussars). So I didn’t think it was a huge stretch for something similar to have happened in Thedas. Also, the Trevelyan coat of arms includes a pretty horse. I needed cavalry somewhere.


	8. Codex: Marcher Fashion

Manuela,

_Carrissima_ , it has been far too long since I last heard from you. I do not have words for the pleasure it brought me to know that of all the beauties of the Antivan court that my darling son could have chosen, it was the daughter of my dearest friend that captured his eye, all that much more because she returns his affection. And how could she not? For when a man stands head and shoulders above all others, as Faello does, he attracts notice.

You ask if she should be provided with a few dresses in the Marcher fashion before her visit. Dearest, I swear to you with all the honesty that is within me to give, first, that she will find any such accoutrements strange and unfamiliar, and that she will be grateful that my Rafael will be making his home in Rialto, and second, that no such fashion exists!

No, Manuela, I am not being snobbish. After all my time here, I have become accustomed, even become affectionate, towards this city of white stone. I do not mean to say that those who can afford to do not follow fashion, or even that the fashion that is followed is not worth following, although in some cases, like Tantervale, most will agree that it is not. I simply mean to say that the Marchers, in this, as in so many other aspects, are a disparate lot. As I said, in Tantervale, they wear only the dullest of colours, the plainest of cloth. In Kirkwall, it is the opposite; a group of ladies there is more colourful than a garden in full bloom, and laden down with gold. In Wycome, of course, one is surprised if the residents are sober enough to wear anything at all. You will laugh at my engagement in such petty squabbles between states, no doubt, my dear, but it is as I said, I have become accustomed to the Marches.

Here in Ostwick, being rich in some ways, but poorer in others, jeweled gowns are eschewed in favour of embroidery in every colour imaginable. In the evenings, necklines are rather wider than they are in Antiva, cutting shoulder to shoulder, with sleeves that barely extend halfway to the elbow. The bodice extends past the natural waist, forming a point between the hips, and is laced over the front of the body, and our skirts are rather full, tiered or otherwise. During the day, our colours are muted, but present, the necklines somewhat higher, sleeves longer, between the elbow and the wrist, depending on the weather.

I have included some drawings done up by my dressmaker, for Antonia and yourself, to decide if you truly wish to have such dresses. In truth, I think my daughters would prefer if she did not have them made quite yet, as it would give them an excuse to take her out shopping after she arrives.

-From a letter from Lady Caterina Trevelyan (née de Guerra), to her friend Donna Manuela D'Orbino (née Chabotto), 9:29 Dragon.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: I have to say, the fashion of Dragon Age makes me want to pull my hair out. The noble outfits worn in Kirkwall always struck me as being sort of Late Victorian/Early Edwardian, at least for the women, with the men existing somewhere in the Renaissance? Then we've got the decidedly middle-ages Ferelden, vaguely Renaissance Antiva and Baroque/Rococo Orlais. So I've thrown everything to the winds, and my Ostwick's fashion is Early Victorian meets Late Imperial Russian in 1860s Hungary. Because screw it. If we're going to take inspiration from most of Western Historical Fashion, we may as well go full-out.


	9. Codex: First Enchanter Theodora of Ostwick

_“Of course I’m a Lucrosian! One cannot purchase autonomy if one has nothing to purchase it with.”_

First Enchanter Theodora is deeply familiar with the definition of irony: an elf born in Hasmal to escaped Tevinter slaves, she was the first of her family to be born free, only to have that freedom taken when her magic manifested. Of only moderate magical talent, she has a prodigious head for business, making the Circle of Ostwick one of the most profitable outside the Imperium.


	10. Codex: Knight-Commander Godfrei mab Fossow

_“No, I cannot possibly imagine what it must be like to be cast aside like so much trash.”_

Bastard half-brother to the current Teyrn of Ostwick, Godfrei was granted to the Chantry in infancy. Ignored by his father, his birth and acknowledgement was welcomed eagerly by the legitimate heir, Baldwin, who was thrilled to finally have a brother in addition to his two younger sisters, regardless of the circumstances of that brother’s birth. Never having been particularly devout, he nevertheless showed great interest in becoming a Templar, and worked hard to become one. After his vigil and placement within the Circle, he was frequently written up for insubordination over the treatment of the mages within his care.

After an incident in 9:31 proved that Knight-Commander Ignatius was unable to control the Templars under his command, Godfrei was chosen to replace him, though accusations of corruption and kowtowing to political influences above those of the Chantry have dogged him since.


	11. Codex: The Ostwick Circle

They won’t rise. Got no reason to. Not with the whole tower bribing the Templars to look the other way. Not when half the city’s nobles are prancing in and out and holding flaming tea parties in their library. They’re fighting to keep it running smooth, won’t want to risk that for a chance at something more, the self-serving bastards. Hard to think of your starving cousin when your own belly’s full.

-An unsigned note found in the Spire, in the aftermath of the uprising.


	12. Codex: Magic in Ostwick

Much like the people of Rivain, the Planasene tribes of the Free Marches treated their practitioners of magic as sources of wisdom and knowledge. These tribes may have had a common culture, but were no more untied than the modern Marcher states. Some suffered conquest and enslavement at the hands of the Ancient Imperium, while others were fortunate enough to become tributary states, paying tribute to the local Magister in the form of food, precious stones and captured slaves.

These fortunate settlements, like Ostwick, were permitted to continue their local traditions, according to translations of texts dating to that time. Thus, the view of magic in Ostwick and the surrounding areas were never coloured by suffering at the hands of the Imperium, nor by the influence of the conquering army of Andraste, distant as they were from the barbarian horde. Even afterwards, when the lands were granted to Evrion, son of Maferath, they held true to their old ways, changing slowly under the influence of the Chantry.

When the Circles were declared across Andrastian Thedas, Ostwick’s mages were granted the use of one of the harbour’s towers. As the city expanded, that tower was incorporated into the harbour wall, making the mages an intrinsic part of the city’s defenses.

-From _Of Fires, Circles and Templars: A History of Magic in the Chantry_ , by Sister Petrine, Chantry Scholar


	13. Codex: Surnames of the Nobility

**Codex: Surnames of the Nobility**

While a peasant may, if pressed, take a surname reflecting his or her profession, or the location of his or her birth, the human noble houses of Thedas place nearly as much value on a person’s name as they do on the wealth that person might possess. While an ordinary woman often takes her husband’s name upon their marriage, itself a relic of ancient practices, wherein a woman joins her husband’s house, a noblewoman will only do so if his title, and thus his name, outranks her own. Should her claim be higher, the husband will instead take his wife’s name, ensuring that the title, and any heirs upon which it will be bestowed, remain within the family.

This practice is more common in some nations, typically those with straightforward hierarchies. In Ferelden and Ostwick, for example, it has been the case for centuries. Less so in Antiva, or Orlais, as the ever-changing political landscape makes it nearly impossible to determine who will have precedence over whom from season to season.

\- From _After the Empire: The Noble Houses of Thedas_ , by Sister Petrine, Chantry Scholar


	14. The Dozen

**Codex: The Dozen**

It is true that Ostwick is ruled by the Teyrn, the title of which has passed down through the Carvosso line since the Towers Age. However, it would be unwise to dismiss the power of the voices of Ostwick’s nobility, for the Teyrn is advised by The Dozen. This council, the heads of the twelve most important families, and their heirs, is not unlike our Landsmeet, with one exception – The Dozen are never called. They simply arrive at the beginning of the political season, and leave for progress at its end.

As Baldwin IV is responsible for the city, they are responsible for the surrounding lands, each with their vast estates, surrounding Ostwick like a third wall.

Beware The Dozen; you will accomplish nothing without them. Be good to The Dozen; you will attain much with them.

\- Advice from the resident ambassador from Ferelden to Ostwick, to his replacement, 9:22 Dragon


End file.
